Meaning & use
take him for granted
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
to fail to appreciate someone because you expect them to always be there or to always help you.
Grammar: The object goes between 'take' and 'for granted': take him for granted, not take for granted him.
Patterns
- take someone for granted
- take something for granted
- be taken for granted
She does all the cooking and cleaning, and her family takes her for granted.
Don't take him for granted; he might not always be around.
I felt taken for granted after working extra hours every week.
phraseidiom
to believe something is true or will happen without checking or questioning it.
Grammar: Used with things and facts, not people: take it for granted that the bus will come.
Patterns
- take something for granted
- take it for granted that ...
We take it for granted that the lights will come on when we flip the switch.
He took for granted that he would get the job, so he was shocked when he didn't.
Many people take clean water for granted until there is a shortage.
Common combinations
- take someone for granted
- After years of being taken for granted, she finally spoke up.
- take something for granted
- We often take our health for granted until we get sick.
- take it for granted that
- I took it for granted that you would be at the party.
- feel taken for granted
- He felt taken for granted when no one thanked him.
Synonyms and how they differ
- undervalue
- A more formal verb meaning to think something is worth less than it is; it does not carry the personal, relationship feel of 'take for granted'.
- assume
- Fits the second sense (believing something without checking) but not the sense of failing to appreciate a person.
Opposites
Word family
- granted adverb
- Used to admit that something is true before making a contrasting point.
Commonly confused: take him for granted or take for granite?
take him for granted vs take for granite
A common misspelling. The correct word is 'granted', not 'granite' (the rock).
Practice
After ten years of marriage, he began to ______ and stopped saying thank you.
Choose one answer.
In this idiom the object goes between 'take' and 'for granted': take her for granted. The other options put the words in the wrong order or leave out 'for'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “take him for granted”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.